Asian Openbill stork,Anastomus oscitans,nesting colony with birds sitting in nests,Keoladeo Ghana National Park,India

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The Asian openbill or Asian openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. This distinctive stork is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is greyish or white with glossy black wings and tail and the adults have a gap between the arched upper mandible and recurved lower mandible. The Asian openbill feeds mainly on large molluscs, especially Pila species, and they separate the shell from the body of the snail using the tip of the beak. The tip of the lower mandible of the beak is often twisted to the right. This tip is inserted into the opening of the snail and the body is extracted with the bill still under water.

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Size: 5231px × 3533px
Location: Keoladeo Ghana National Park,India
Photo credit: © Dominic Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: adult, adults, anastomus, animal, animals, arched, asian, avifauna, bird, birds, ciconiidae, colony, diet, eating, family, feeder, habitats, india, indian, mandible, mollusc, molluscs, nature, nest, nesting, nests, openbill, oscitans, pila, snail, species, stork, storks, wetland, wildlife